Im surprised there isnt an armorers sub-forum(it's late and i might not've seen it), so i might aswell ask here. Anyone have any experience making plate armors? If so, are you willing to share your informations with me?

thanks in advance

you know i wondered that too, but hey who has time for armour these days, i mean a full suit takes like what an entire year to complete?

Why not go to an armour specific set of forums like armourarchive.org? They have about a dozen forums on armour making, research, etc. Note to mention the pattern archive, essays, classifieds and even an off-topic area.

I send folks over there interested in smithing over here...

Better to concentrate knowledge than to spread it all over the net in small pieces!

you know i wondered that too, but hey who has time for armour these days, i mean a full suit takes like what an entire year to complete?

Not that I've ever attempted to make armor but why would it take a year? Unless you only work on it a hour a week or something like that?

The quick answer is that fit and finish take a long time. If it doesn't have to fit/work, and it doesn't need to be polished, it would be much faster.

Not that I've ever attempted to make armor but why would it take a year? Unless you only work on it a hour a week or something like that?

A complete harness usually doesn't take a year to make for an experienced or advanced armourer. It could take a couple months or more depending on the style, number of pieces, extent of decoration, etc.

I've made several different parts of armour, though I've never made a full suit. Definitly check out the Armour Archive, lots of information there and some of the best armourers around hang out there, too.

thanks for the reply, heading over there now :P

Im surprised there isnt an armorers sub-forum(it's late and i might not've seen it), so i might aswell ask here. Anyone have any experience making plate armors? If so, are you willing to share your informations with me?

thanks in advance

Typically, medieval (Because I like them the most) Armourers had 4-horned anvils, and did most of the plate shaping of the flat steel, cold. They used heat only for tight bends and welding some parts together.

Here are a few pictures of the medieval armourers at work.

If you are curious about the 2 bellows in the one picture (the medieval style), don't hesitate to ask!:cool:

Have you tried armourarchive.org or Arador armourlibrary or Therionarms
Armourer

Yup Armor Archive is the way to go, made the Roman Lorica Segmentata in about a month out of 18g steel, not a bad project!

Armor Archive is a good one to look at, ive been making armor for several years and it sure doesnt take a year, for a good looking full set of armor about a month acorse thats if its just a plain one no thrills added.

I have meet a few armours here in florida they use stainless steel less maintance in the long run.

Francis Cole : In regards to armour made in stainless steel it's more about what the what customers want. Right now the demand is for Stainless Steel because of the ease of maintenance. About 4 or so yeas ago the demand was mainly for stuff in mild steels because of the cheaper price, but in the last 5 years or so the demand has become almost totally for stainless steel produces, people have realized that even though it has a higher initial cost it's worth it in the long term for ease and cost of maintenance. About 4-5 years ago there was a high demand for armour made of spring steel, while still in demand that demand has declined since its cost is much higher that that of the same product in stainless due to the cost of the spring steel and the extra work needed, i.e. it needs to be worked "hot" and needs to be re-tempered after the final shaping is done.

Spc.Savant : That seems like quite an extended amount of time for Lorica Segmentata? When I still worked in Alan Baldree's (AB Hammer on Armor Archive) shop we did a Lorica Segmentata in 3 and a half days with dished and planished(sp?) lames in 14ga, as well as brass rosettas and fittings for the lacing. Making, polishing, and fitting all the brass pieces took most of the time. If it was not for the brass work it would have only taken about 2 - 2 1/2 days.

Sesshoumaru didn't mention that a lot of the dishing is done on wooden dishing stumps.


I know this is an old thread. I'm willing to share any knowledge I have on armouring, limited as it may be. I did a 6 year apprenticeship under Alan Baldree and worked with him a total of 8 years, until he moved from Kentucky to Louisiana.

The Arador Armour Library has a wealth of information. www.arador.com
hope that helps!

Im surprised there isnt an armorers sub-forum

If there is enough interest and traffic, we create a sub-forum.

Do the leg work for us and find all the posts directly related to armor. If there are a sufficient posts, give us the URL's so we can start moving them as time allows..